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I’ve recently seen an onslaught of marketing campaigns that
feature companies trumpeting their commitment to customers.
Really? Without customers you can’t have a company.

That customers are number one should be a foregone conclusion. It
is a tenet integral and implicit to the existence and
success of an organization. It doesn’t require a campaign to make
it so. Generally speaking, if a company is shouting from the
rooftops at customers telling them they are important, one or
more of its internal functions isn’t customer savvy.

As an entrepreneur and leader, you create the values for
every function within your organization. These five tips can help
you keep, or put, customers front and center in all key
areas within your company.

1. The corner office. As CEO and president, it
can be easy to lose sight of the customer. Do so at your own
peril.

Customers can provide keen insights into many aspects of your
organization. Get out in the field. Build regularly scheduled
customer visits into your routine. Solicit
direct, unfiltered feedback regarding every aspect of your
company: sales, customer service, product and back office
functions. Put mechanisms in place to act on the information you
gain.

Seek the same type of input from your sales people, without
management in the middle. Expect brutal honesty from those on the
front lines. Without it, you lose the customer’s voice. Build a
culture where people are confident feedback is valued and
issues are resolved.

2. Product development. A product that’s
informed only by an internal vision will fail. The customer’s
imprint should be all over your products. Every time you meet
with R&D or product development to discuss progress, ask:
“how is this offering going to impact the customer?” “What
difference will it make in their life?”

If the team can’t answer those questions, ask why are you
building the product? Anticipate how the user will interact with
the product. How many clicks does it take to use the most popular
feature? Then, make it even easier.

3. Training and support. If your product
requires a lot of training and support, it is likely a sign that
it is too complex and sucking up valuable resources from you and
your customers.

Companies of all sizes fall prey to the “more is better” myth for
features and functions. Actually, most customers crave
simplicity. Use your training or customer support teams to learn
how customers, ideally in beta, interact with your product, what
features and functions they use, how often and under what
circumstances.

If you design products with the customer in mind, your products
will be easier to use, and your customers will thank you for
minimizing training time.

4. Hiring. Don’t just hire the slickest resume.
Prospective hires can have stellar resumes, be super smart, have
run huge operations and big budgets, but be “customer clueless.”
What have they have done in their careers to ensure customer
happiness?

When interviewing a potential product manager, for example, you
should ask, “how do you spend an unexpected free block of time?”
If the answer focuses on catching up on administrative tasks, or
doing an ops review, you should pass. If you hear, “I spend time
on the sales floor” or “I go on a customer visit,” the candidate
is worth another look.

Lean toward the candidate who exudes an “I want to know what the
customer wants” attitude.

5. Back office. Bring your back office into the
customer-centric dialogue. Customer facing managers should meet
with back office staff to explain how their roles are linked
to the organization’s overall success. Describe or
demonstrate the ways in which back office work directly impacts
the customer. Brainstorm ways to improve.

There’s a strong link between customer and employee
satisfaction. When back office professionals feel they are
integral to a customer’s happiness, they become more passionate
about, and interested in, their jobs.

View every aspect of your business from your customers’ vantage
point, including those areas you may not consider
customer-facing. Listen to your customers. You will be surprised
by what you learn. If you put that knowledge into action, you
won't feel a need to shout to your customers from the
rooftops.